A year of uncertainty for China, plus a new graft watchdog and more

Opinion: What will China give up in 2017 for the stability it seeks?/ SCMPCary Huang characterizes 2017 as a year of uncertainty for China. There is the scheduled reshuffle of top political figures at the 19th national congress of the Communist Party this autumn, which may determine tough decisions between market reform and tighter economic control. Brexit, upcoming European elections, and Donald Trump represent an unusually large amount of instability from outside. For more on the risks in China’s economic and geopolitical strategy in 2017, see thisForeign Policy article from yesterday.

China rolls out new graft watchdog / WSJ (paywall)The “national supervisory commission,” with powers to “interrogate and detain suspects, freeze assets, and, in some cases, render punishment,” is now being tested at regional levels before becoming a centralized institution next year. It is the latest deepening of President Xi’s anti-corruption campaign that has “sidelined rivals, bolstered his popularity, and helped raise his stature as China’s most dominant leader in decades.”

Lucas Niewenhuis is an associate editor at SupChina who helps curate daily news and produce the company's newsletter, app, and website content. Previously, Lucas researched China-Africa relations at the Social Science Research Council and interned at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He has studied Chinese language and culture in Shanghai and Beijing, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

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